


An Apostate Warden

by Mage_of_the_wilds



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Grey Warden Joining, Grey Wardens, Mage Warden (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mage_of_the_wilds/pseuds/Mage_of_the_wilds
Summary: The journey of Athera Tabris, an apostate who managed to hide her magic until a fateful wedding day. Threatened with death and tranquility, she joins an order she knows little about to save her life.





	An Apostate Warden

**Author's Note:**

> I've never done a multi chapter fic before, I'm both excited and very nervous to post this. Out of all the wardens I've created Athera is easily my favorite, so I hope you like her too. She's a shy apostate who's slightly unprepared for the oncoming blight.

Athera felt alive, magic running through her veins, electricity still crackling between her slender, blood soaked, fingers. None of the bridesmaids dared look at her, not with her ripped dress, not with the stolen dagger that she still had an iron grip on, even after all the humans were dead. She knew she must've been quite the sight, her white dress stained red, her eyes practically glowing with the energy she had expended, destroying every single human who dared get in her way.

She'd never seen so much blood. It haunted her vision, what she had done, but she knew above all... The humans had deserved it. They had more than deserved it, they had earned it. What they did was unspeakable, and what Athera had done in turn was justice. 

Even if the other stared at her, fear in their eyes, even if Soris refused to walk near her. 

She supposed they were hurt, that she had kept such a secret from them. But their reactions only proved she was right to keep it from them, to keep her magic a secret.

The walk back to the alienage was silent. She led the way, one foot after another, one step at a time. The immediate danger had passed, there were no humans to fight, but the feeling of life and death refused to leave Athera, she was still on edge, her magic right at the surface, just waiting to be called on again.

When they finally reached the alienage, when they finally got home, the bridesmaids led Shiani away, while Soris explained to the elders what had happened.

Athera stood by the gate, the sight of her home, the sight of her father, snuffed her magical high out, extinguishing the flames danger had created and she had stoked. 

Without the magic, without it thrumming beneath her skin, she felt empty and weak. She felt like a scared little girl, she felt like she'd unleashed a hurricane. She was in the eye now, but that wouldn't last forever.

Her life was likely forfeit. 

Rather suddenly, her legs decided that they no longer wanted to support her, her knees buckling under her weight.

She would've fallen, she wouldn't have even tried to stop herself from hitting the ground, but firm arms caught and held her up, steadying her when she couldn't steady herself.

She was surprised to see it was the Grey Warden, Duncan, if she recalled correctly, that had rushed to help her. Though she supposed it made sense, he was the only one who didn't look at her with fear. 

She turned so she could look at him, numbness taking over, she couldn't feel the fear anymore. She couldn't feel anything anymore. The energy she had expended, cutting down each human who dared to get her way, with both magic and blade, left her hollow.

"Thank you." She managed to get out, voice slightly hoarse.

Duncan looked genuinely concerned, which she supposed was nice of him, as he attempted to get her back to being steady on her feet.

"Perhaps you should sit down..." He suggested, eyes flicking to the crowd of elves that were now watching them-- watching her, specifically. It seemed Soris had told them everything, and word spread quickly. This wasn't something you could keep under wraps, after all. They were a tight knit community, they always had been, and now they were undivided in their fear of her.

"Athera!" A familiar voice, her father pushed through the crowd, ignoring the protests that came when he rather roughly made a path through, "Darling!"

There was panic in his voice, panic she would've matched just a little bit ago, as he ran over and pulled her into a crushing hug, supporting most of her weight.

"It's ok, it's going to be ok." He promised, his voice shaking. He pulled away to look at her, and then back at everyone else, eyes begging for help. 

None came.

"We need to go... You need to go, you need to run." He said frantically, setting her back on her feet, though he still held her arms.

Athera didn't feel strong enough to support herself, but she knew her father was right... She did have to run. Part of her wondered what the point was, surely they'd catch up to her eventually. Surely they'd kill her. The thought, though alarming, felt too far away to scare her.

Maybe it was for the best.

But then she remembered her mother, the way the humans had caught up to her, killed her. Her mother had loved her, though they hadn't actually been related by blood, Athera knew above all that her mother would want her to live. She'd want her to shake out of her trance, her stupor, and survive. 

She shook her head, as though trying to dislodge the thoughts that told her to lay down and die, and looked into her father's eyes, the desperation answering all she needed to know, she didn't have time to sit and think about it.

She hastily nodded, pulling away from her father's embrace, "You're right." 

She gathered her skirts, though they were torn and bloody, and looked back at the gates, "I need to--" 

Before she could complete her sentence, before she could act on her decision to live, her decision to do what her mother would've wanted her to do, the gates swung open.

She backed up on instinct, eyes growing wide as the city guard marched through in a fury, two Templars on either side of the captain, who looked ready to kill.

"Where's the mage?" He demanded, though one sweeping look over the alienage told him all he needed to know. No one needed to say anything, no one needed to point her out. It was obvious in the way she stood apart from everyone else, obvious in her bloody gown, and her wide, fearful eyes.

The guard captain walked to her slowly, carefully, each of the Templars on his heels, "Hands where I can see them, no sudden movements." He paused, looking back over the crowd, eyes suspicious, "Who else was it? Who were you working with?" 

It took a moment for Athera to process that the question was aimed at her. She paused, her mind flashing to Soris, flashing to the moment in the castle when he turned away from her and her magic. She looked at the crowd, so many faces staring at her, but she only needed to see one.

Soris was pale, frozen in place, his eyes locked with hers. 

She could see the silent pleading, she could see the panic.

She turned back to the guard, clearing her throat and shaking her head, "I worked alone." 

She didn't look to see her cousin's reaction, she didn't need to. No one argued or corrected her, they wanted the guards to leave... They wanted the guards to take her so they could return things back to normal. 

"A swift death would be merciful, mage." The guard spat out, "But you'll be granted no favors after your little rampage." 

He nodded to the Templars, and they started towards her. She backed up on instinct, magic flaring to the surface once more, a dangerous electricity in the air. She had no where to go, she knew that, but she wasn't going to go without a fight.

The Templars couldn't do much yet, she hadn't actually called on her magic, but they were prepared. Their swords glinted in the afternoon sunlight, menacing, promising pain. 

"No, you can't!" Her father quickly stepped in front of her, foolishly, as though they would even blink before killing him as well, as though they wouldn't simply cut him down if he tried to protect her. 

"Your daughter is a murderer, a criminal. She's dangerous and needs to be taken to the mage prison. I won't ask you to move twice." 

One of the Templars spoke, a dangerous edge in his voice, ever so slightly muffled through the helmet he wore.

Athera was about to push her father back, away from the swords and certain death, but before she could act a new voice cut though the tense standstill, calm but firm, 

"There will be no need for that. I hereby invoke the right of conscription." 

She blinked once, twice, before being truly able to process what that meant. She stared at Duncan, before her gaze flicked back to the templar who has spoken, and then the city guard. They all seemed as shocked as she was, and for a moment things were still, and no one uttered a word.

"You must be joking, this elf is a dangerous apostate! She killed the Teyrn's son!" The Templar spoke, not yet sheathing his weapon, his eyes still narrowed on Athera, venom in his gaze.

"I stand by my decision to recruit her." Duncan said simply, "We will leave Denerim today." 

After a tense moment, the Templar very reluctantly sheathed his blade, nodding at his partner to do the same. With the Templars no longer out for blood, then City Guard followed, though none of them looked happy about it.

They still seemed outraged, and her father stayed in his place, shielding her. 

"Fine." The guard captain spat out, "This is a Grey Warden matter now. She's your problem, whatever crimes she might commit next are on you." 

Athera watched as the guards left, and could feel a collective sigh of relief from the people behind her. Her father turned to face her, face pale and eyes watery, still clearly distressed. 

"It'll be alright." She said, half to herself, half to her father. 

Surprisingly her voice didn't waver, despite how absolutely shaken she still was, despite the fact that she was now to join an order she knew nothing about. She was thankful, of course, but terrified of what might come next. She was safe, no longer in danger of being executed, but she was to leave her home... Leave her family, and her people, the place she had grown up, everything she knew and loved... She was supposed to just let go of it, leave it behind. She wasn't sure if she could, even if she had to.

Her father nodded wordlessly, pulling her into another tight hug that she reciprocated, clinging to him for dear life, desperately not wanting to let him go, to let anything go. 

She wasn't even aware she was crying until the hug broke, and she was left feeling more alone than she had ever felt before. She was still covered in blood, still shaking, but she doubted she had any time to waste... She had to leave the city, she had to join the Grey Wardens. She couldn't drag her feet, Duncan had saved her life.

"I'm going to go to the house to get ready." She said, looking over at Duncan, "I won't be long at all. We can leave soon." 

He nodded, "Pack only what you need. Armor and weapons will be provided when we get to Ostegar." 

She didn't respond, didn't quite know how to. She wasn't sure how she should feel. Grateful? Angry? Numb? Hopeless? 

Her emotions were tremulous, swirling around in a whirlwind of confusion and uncertainty, a dangerous combination. She nodded once, and then merely turned and walked away. The crowd parted for her easily, still fearful, still nervous, as though she was going to do something horrible, as though she hadn't been their neighbor, their friend, for so long. 

It hurt. It hurt more than she ever expected. 

She kept her head down, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort, and making her way back to her house, a safe haven she would likely never return to.

She didn't walk slowly, though she wanted to, to take in everything one last time, to memorize things she had previously ignored, the details of the wall, the cats that hid in the alleyways, the elfroot growing in the front of people's houses, almost like weeds. She didn't have time to, however, and she doubted anyone wanted her to delay her departure. 

She reached her home, and got ready as fast as she could.

She dealt with the blood first, cleaning up and stripping the ruined wedding dress away from herself. She scrubbed away at the blood that had dried and caked itself onto her skin, until her skin was raw, and until the tub was crimson. 

She could still feel the blood, though, and doubted she would ever truly be rid of it.

She dressed in the most sensible clean clothing she could find, simple pants and a blue tunic. She left her favorite, and only, dress behind. She doubted she would need such a thing when battling darkspawn, or doing whatever else the Grey Wardens did.

She grabbed a cloak, laced up her mother's boots, and tied her long hair back. She had a small leather pack, stuffed with things she thought would be useful on the road.

She retrieved her secret, and utterly messy, grimoire from underneath a loose and broken floorboard her father had never bothered repairing. The pages were full of spilled ink, disjointed thoughts, and more recently spells of her own creation. She smiled faintly, running a finger down the leather bound spine, and remembering when her mother had gifted her the journal. 

Those days had been so much simpler. 

There was no time to dwell though, she had done enough, and was as ready for her new life as she could possibly be.

Stuffing the grimoire away in her bag, she came back outside into the alienage. 

Almost immediately, she ran into someone rather roughly. Before they could fall, she hastily steadied them, offering an alarmed apology before she saw exactly who it was.

Shiani stood, looking at her with wide eyes, usually so vibrant and happy, filled with sorrow.

"You... You're leaving." It was a statement, not a question, "and you took all of the blame." 

Athera looked away, unsure if she could face her cousin. She didn't want her last memory of her to be one of anger or sadness, she still didn't know how Shiani felt about her magic.

"Everyone should be fine, once I'm gone." She shrugged, trying to be casual, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. She didn't want her cousin to see how heartbroken she was, about everything.

"No, that's... that's ridiculous. You saved me. You saved all of us." Shiani insisted, the strong tone of her voice urging Athera to look up. Shiani had fire in her gaze, a usual sight, but not because she was mad at her, because she was grateful.

Athera wasn't sure what to do, the realization that Shiani wasn't upset with her, didn't hate her, hit her so hard. Everything she had been trying not to feel came rushing to the surface, and she couldn't control the tears that came. 

She hastily rubbed her eyes, blinking rapidly in a feeble attempt at stopping it. She tried to be strong enough not to cry, but things only got worse when Shiani hugged her. 

"I'll miss you, cousin." She said, voice wobbling, "Make us proud...and thank you." 

Athera didn't want to end the hug, but she realized she was taking far longer than she said she would. She had to go. She had to leave, and nothing would change that.

"I'll miss you too, Shiani." She said, pulling away, "Take care of Soris for me. Take care of everyone." 

She smiled through her sorrow, and began the walk back to Duncan and her father, leaving her cousin behind, leaving everything behind.

When she reached the gate, her face was still stained with tears, but thankfully they had stopped. She hugged her father once more, not offering a goodbye, not wanting to recognize she would likely never see him again. 

"Are you ready?" Duncan asked, thankfully not sounding impatient.

"Yes. Let's go."


End file.
